| Acknowledgements | 第5-6页 |
| Abstract | 第6-7页 |
| 摘要 | 第8-12页 |
| 1. Introduction | 第12-16页 |
| 1.1 Research background | 第12页 |
| 1.2 Research significance | 第12-14页 |
| 1.3 Structure of the thesis | 第14-16页 |
| 2. Literature Review | 第16-25页 |
| 2.1. Review of studies on metadiscourse | 第16-22页 |
| 2.1.1 Various definitions of metadiscourse | 第16-17页 |
| 2.1.2 Various functions of metadiscourse | 第17-22页 |
| 2.2 Review of studies on teacher talk | 第22-25页 |
| 2.2.1 Definitions and taxonomies of teacher talk | 第22页 |
| 2.2.2 Relevant studies on metadiscourse in teacher talk | 第22-25页 |
| 3. Methodology | 第25-31页 |
| 3.1 Research contexts | 第25页 |
| 3.2 Research purposes | 第25-26页 |
| 3.3 Research questions | 第26页 |
| 3.4 Theoretical basis of the study | 第26-28页 |
| 3.5 Research instruments | 第28-30页 |
| 3.6 Data collection and analysis | 第30-31页 |
| 3.6.1 Analyzing the selected corpus | 第30页 |
| 3.6.2 Collecting data and analyzing data | 第30-31页 |
| 4. Results and Discussion | 第31-56页 |
| 4.1 Results | 第31-49页 |
| 4.1.1 The distribution of the first personal metadiscourse in teacher talk inBritish colleges and universities | 第31-34页 |
| 4.1.2 The functions of the first personal metadiscourse in teacher talk inBritish colleges and universities | 第34-49页 |
| 4.2 Discussion | 第49-56页 |
| 4.2.1 The importance of the first personal metadiscourse in teacher talk | 第49-51页 |
| 4.2.2 The distribution of the first personal discourse functions | 第51-53页 |
| 4.2.3 Formulaic expressions to achieve certain discourse functions by usingthe first personal metadiscourse in teacher talk | 第53-56页 |
| 5. Conclusions | 第56-60页 |
| 5.1 Summary of findings | 第56-57页 |
| 5.2 Implications of this study | 第57-58页 |
| 5.3 Limitations and suggestions for further studies | 第58-60页 |
| Bibliography | 第60-64页 |
| Appendix | 第64-66页 |
